RBA
Rates veto power must stay: Greens issue RBA demands
11 September
Fizzling Reserve Bank reforms could be revived if the federal government is prepared to keep its veto power of interest rate decisions and meet other demands from the Greens. The minor party also wants the RBA to maintain its ability to direct...[Read More]
Hiring go-slow ongoing as RBA keeps sights on inflation
11 September
Demand for labour will need to taper off further to tame inflation, with Australia’s central bank expecting firms to trim staff hours and keep the handbrake on new hiring. Reserve Bank assistant governor Sarah Hunter said Australia’s labour...[Read More]
Inflation steps down but ladder still steep for RBA
28 August
Fruit and vegetable prices are blowing out grocery bills but electricity rebates and petrol prices are driving down inflation. The monthly consumer price index rose 3.5 per cent over the 12 months to July, a touch higher than the 3.4 per cent...[Read More]
Rate-cut hopes hit brick wall as RBA cements stance
21 August
Mortgage-holders could be waiting until early 2025 for repayment relief if the economy follows the Reserve Bank of Australia’s expected path. For six meetings in a row, interest rates have been left at 4.35 per cent, a level the central bank says...[Read More]
Beware of economic ‘false prophets’, warns Reserve Bank
14 August
Commentators framing their economic projections as unquestionable and obvious should be treated with caution, says Reserve Bank of Australia’s deputy governor, Andrew Hauser. In a speech to the Economic Society of Australia in Queensland, Mr...[Read More]
Moderating wage pressures may come as a relief
14 August
Private sector wages are growing at the lowest rate in more than two and a half years as the cooling jobs market tempers pay negotiations. Moderating wage pressures may come as a relief for an RBA preoccupied by persistent inflation and companies...[Read More]
RBA governor warns rate cuts not on near-term agenda
7 August
Mortgage-holders have a while to wait for repayment relief as the head of the Reserve Bank of Australia warns a near-term interest rate cut is not on the cards. Australia’s central bank left interest rates unchanged at 4.35 per cent as widely...[Read More]
Rates remain on hold, RBA still wary of inflation risks
7 August
The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept interest rates unchanged and reworked its forecasts, with inflation returning to target by the end of the year before bouncing back towards the end of 2025. The key interest rate was left unchanged at 4.35 per...[Read More]
Door swings shut on rate rise following inflation data
31 July
Australian mortgage-holders and businesses appear to have dodged another interest rate hike following an inflation reading that takes pressure off the central bank. Households are still being hit with higher prices for everything from fruit to fuel,...[Read More]
Inflation up in first annual rise since late 2022
31 July
Australia’s annual inflation lifted to 3.8 per cent in the year to June, from 3.6 per cent previously, to land broadly in line with expectations ahead of the next interest rate meeting. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said it was the first...[Read More]
Hints on state of economy as cost relief kicks in
24 July
Experts will scour the first trickle of financial data for early clues on the state of Australia’s economy since tax relief kicked in. The purchasing managers’ indexes for the manufacturing and services sectors land this week, as pay packets...[Read More]
RBA to get jobs piece of the puzzle ahead of rates call
17 July
Australia’s central bank will sift through fresh jobs numbers ahead of the cash rate call next month. In the lead-up to that call the Australian share market on Friday closed at its highest level ever after a bigger-than-expected inflation drop in...[Read More]
Rate hike chance ‘incredibly slim’ in bumpy last mile
17 July
Higher shipping costs and other hiccups are complicating the central bank’s task of lowering inflation, yet economists say a bumpy last mile was expected. The next set of quarterly inflation numbers, which tops the Reserve Bank’s watchlist ahead...[Read More]
Home lending slips but still well ahead over the year
10 July
New home lending remains far ahead of where it was a year ago despite a minor dip in May for property investors and owner-occupiers. Over the month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics logged a 1.7 per cent fall in all new housing loans, to $28.8...[Read More]
‘No smoking gun’ to hike rates
3 July
Australia’s central bank remains vigilant to slowing progress on inflation yet the minutes from the last interest rate meeting signal a reluctance to lift them again. In keeping with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s assertion the narrow path is...[Read More]